When it’s healthy, your skin offers a layer of protection that you might take for granted. It prevents germs from entering the body, it regulates body temperature, and with its millions of nerve endings, it helps you feel things.

Your skin also has an amazing ability to heal itself under normal circumstances. However, sometimes injuries, disease and surgery create wounds that don’t heal well ... or in some instances don’t heal at all.

When that happens, it’s time to visit a wound care specialist for treatment.

“In most cases, a lack of circulation compromises the healing process,” said Rhode. “People who have diabetes, who are obese or immobile are at the greatest risk for chronic or non-healing wounds.”

“It’s important to seek medical attention for wounds that will not heal,” said Rhode. “If the wound is infected and the infection moves into the bone, it could mean amputation.” Non-healing wounds are defined as acute wounds if they have not healed within 12 weeks or chronic non-healing wounds if they have not healed in more than 12 weeks.

Severe or chronic wounds have a better chance of healing if patients are involved in a program of whole body care. “Wound care technology has advanced along with the options that are available,” said Rhode. “Negative pressure therapy closure, bioengineered-skin grafts and low-frequency ultrasound are just some of the techniques that we use at the Wound Care Center.”

In the past, non-healing wounds would mean amputation. Ministry Medical Group’sArobella ultrasound helps prevent that. It is a low-frequency ultrasound that uses sound waves that work at the cellular level to kill bacteria and debride the non-viable tissue in the wound bed.

The technology cleans the wounds and stimulates the wounded tissue so it heals faster. The use of the Arobella in combination with proper wound care can reverse chronic non-healing wounds into fully healed wounds.

“The Arobella ultrasound uses saline to cool the ultrasound, which is more soothing for the patient,” said Rhode. “I’ve been using the Arobella for more than a year; it has made a big difference in the rate of healing.

“A person should seek medical attention if they notice any sign of infection in a wound – redness, swelling, or the smell of foul drainage,” said Rhode. “People who have diabetes should do daily skin inspections, especially on their feet since their wounds do not heal well and can turn chronic quite quickly.

“Nutrition is also an important component of wound healing,” added Rhode. “I always recommend supplementing with a multivitamin with mineral, protein supplements and vitamin D, especially for patients at risk for skin breakdown due to pressure ulcers. Lacking these nutrients can ultimately delay wound healing.”

Contact your primary care provider if you have a wound that is not healing.

Get your game on WIAA Physical Screenings

Ministry Sports Medicine will be providing pre-participation sports-physical screenings for athletes in grades 6 to 12. Athletes with asthma, ADHD, heart disease or diabetes should not participate in these screenings, but should visit their primary care provider for proper health management.

The screening includes a complete medical history, sport-specific history, orthopedic and physical exam, and meets all WIAA requirements for the 2014 to 2016 seasons.

Please complete the green WIAA card and history form prior to the screening. Parents need to accompany athletes under age 18. Please remember to wear a T-shirt and gym shorts.

Why do hospital awards matter?

Occasionally, hospitals will announce they have won awards for one service line of care or another. Many ask, “Isn’t this just the hospital tooting their own horn?”

While it may sound like hospitals are publishing self-serving news, they are actually publishing a report card of sorts for your review.

If you see that your local hospital has received an award, take a moment to reflect.

For instance, you can trust a hospital that has achieve an award as the top coding hospital to keep very accurate and detailed records, a FOTO Award (Focus On Therapeutic Outcomes) would indentify a facility that you could trust to deliver high level therapy services.

The level of care needed to translate into an award means that you should experience high quality care, which may mean a better quality of life after a hospital admission for illness, injury or surgery.

So the next time that local hospital awards are announced, investigate what type of report card your healthcare facility is actually providing for your review.

Dr. Ziegenbein is able to treat some conditions through joint aspirations (obtaining fluid from the joint) and injections (introducing medications into the joint.)

“I give my best for every patient,” said Dr. Ziegenbein. “I believe in my patient’s full participation in the treatment plan. Teaching the patient and giving him or her a good understanding of the condition and treatment options achieves the best outcome.”

“I believe in taking the necessary time to get to know the patient and their musculoskeletal and systemic complaints,” said Dr. Ziegenbein. “Rheumatology is a subspecialty that encompasses many diseases. It’s the description of symptoms and specific patient complaints that helps me solidify the diagnosis and establish the optimal treatment approach.”

If you experience arthritis symptoms, suffer with lupus, or another autoimmune disease, call 715-342-7776 to make an appointment with Dr. Ziegenbein.

To serve your better, Ministry Saint Michael’s is expanding its current emergency care department not only to accommodate more patients, but also to be more patient-focused and efficient in the delivery of emergency and urgent care.

When it is complete, Ministry Saint Michael’s Hospital will provide a “no-wait” emergency department that brings together resources from surgical preparation and recovery to create a more efficient and enhanced patient-care experience.